Male' City Council passes ban on smoking on streets

Male' City Council on late Wednesday voted in favour of banning public smoking on the streets of capital Male' City.

"Regulations will be made, and it will be implemented after six months. Smoking on the streets of Male' will be illegal afterwards", said Hussain Shareef, who submitted the case to Wednesday's meeting of Male' City Council.

"We will meet and discuss with relevant authorities of the administration while making the regulations".

Councillor Ahmed Zameer supported Hussain's submittal of the anti-smoking case to the council. The case received unanimous vote in its favour by all seven attending members in the meeting.

Council Member Mohamed Rasheed chaired the meeting as Mayor Shifa Mohamed was unable to attend the meeting, and Deputy Mayor Shamau Shareef was not in Male' at the time.

Currently, public smoking is banned in areas close to government institutions. Furthermore, smoking in cafes and restaurants is only allowed with a government permit.